Shootout after a show. Nobody will ever accuse Parmalee's members of not having paid their dues. Three years ago, after a show in their home state of North Carolina, two intruders entered the band's RV, brandishing guns and demanding money. When the burglars started shooting, drummer Scott Thomas, who had a concealed-carry permit, returned fire, killing one and injuring the other. Thomas was hit three times, once in the head. He spent more than a month in the hospital, including 10 days in a coma. He still has numbness in his right leg. "It changed the way we think about safety," says brother Matt Thomas, Parmalee's lead singer. "We always lock the doors. We always go to the safe side of town to go to a gas station. It's stuff we thought about but didn't put into action until this happened."

Carolina in their minds. Three years after the shooting, Parmalee's single Carolina is the band's first No. 1 on USA TODAY's Country airplay chart. Carolina has sold 472,000 downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Parmalee's sound, described by Matt as "the rocking side of country with a touch of soul," is fleshed out by bassist Barry Knox and guitarist Josh McSwain. This week, the group released its Feels Like Carolina album, co-produced by three members of Jason Aldean's band. "We've been doing this for a long time, and there's always been the next step in sight," McSwain says. "But seeing what Carolina has done, it's just unbelievable. We're not used to this."

Raising the roof. The group takes its name from Parmele, a tiny North Carolina town, having added an "e" to avoid phonetic confusion. "Nobody outside probably 10 miles from Martin County knows how to pronounce it," Matt says. The group had its earliest practice space there, a tiny barn in a friend's backyard. "It was, like, 5 feet tall, just enough to park a car under. We put three cinder blocks on it, finished it out, and that's what we had for rehearsal."

New possibilities. Before Carolina hit No. 1 this week, the highlight of 2013 for McSwain may have been the band's first performance at the Grand Ole Opry, in March. "That's something that, growing up, I never even thought that was a possibility," he says. "Of course, all our families came out to see it, because they didn't think it was possible, either."

Traveling band. During the band members' earliest days in Nashville, they lived in their RV, staying behind clubs or a local Comfort Inn. "Everybody parked their tour buses there, so we were just hidden in between them," McSwain says. "Nobody really said anything. We've always been ones to ask forgiveness, not permission."